[morse1001]

One night when I was on TCW, there was a party across the hallway! It was a noisy and drunken party which lasted to 0200 on a workday.

I got up at 0300, put on my NBC suit, webbing and tin hat. I then went across to the door of the room where they held the party, which by now was very quiet and started to bang on the door! I was also shouting, “Taceval! Taceval!” The door opened and out popped a very drunk and bewildered face, “What’s all the shouting about”?

I replied that a Taceval had been announced an hour ago and that I had been sent by the adjutant, to whose team they had been assigned. I further said that “they were on the first chalk and were due to fly out at 0400”! Just at that point, a herc flared its engines as it landed and I pointed out that it was their kite! “Oh! S**t”! came the reply and the door banged shut and I could voices starting to shout at each other to get up! I went back to sleep and had a good and peaceful sleep.

The following morning, I was trying to sneak past the Adjutant’s open office door, when I heard his dulcet tones shouting, “Nevans! Get in here!” So, stopping only to take off my forage cap, I entered his office. I was expecting the worst but in fact he was smiling, which did cause me to be a bit disconcerted!

“Yes! Sir! What do you want me for”? I asked sheepishly.
“Well!” he replied, “It appears that someone had been using my name in vain, last night”!
“I don’t know what you mean, sir”? I tried to lie convincingly!

He then went on to explain, that three members of UKMF TCW had ran through the camp and past the guardroom trying to get dressed on the run. They were stopped by the Duty Sgt, who asked them where “the bloody hell” they were going. He was met with the reply, “There’s a Taceval”! The Duty Sgt got on the radio to the main guardroom and told them of the Taceval! The duty Cpl started to put to call out into action!

By the time, the Duty Sgt had contacted the Duty officer and he had contacted station ops, quite a few people had been called and were on their way back to Brize. However, when the DO had contacted the ops room, he was told that “there was no f******g Taceval”!

The three guys were that involved had been so drunk that they could not really remember who it was, that had knocked on the door. As for me, I went about with a smug smile on my face for weeks!